noun
prison
PRIHZN
noun
1
A secure institution where people are held, usually as punishment after being convicted of a serious crime, or while awaiting trial.
"He was sent to prison for armed robbery."
"The new facility can hold over a thousand prisoners."
2
Any situation or place that feels confining or inescapable, even without literal bars.
"For her, the small town felt like a prison."
How to Use Prison
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA locked institution for holding people convicted of crimes — or, more loosely, anything that traps or confines someone.
Common pairings
sent to prison
prison sentence
break out of prison
life in prison
Word Forms
prisoned past tense, prisons plural, prisons singular
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He was sent to _____ for armed robbery.
Etymology
From Old French prison, ultimately from Latin prehensio, "a seizing" — the same root that gives us "prehension" (grasping).